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Died – 12/1/16
Handler – Sgt. Jeremy Taysom
Heart problems lead to death of sheriff’s department K-9
The Bannock County Sheriff’s Department is sadly now without one of its constant K-9s. Arno, a Belgian Malinois, passed away Dec. 1 due to heart complications. He was almost 10 years old. “I went out in the backyard, and my dog was just laying by his kennel,” said Sgt. Jeremy Taysom, Arno’s handler. “I hollered at him and he kind of looked at me. I walked over, and he stood up, was wobbly and fell back down.” Taysom knew something was off, so he rushed his dog to the veterinarian to discover that Arno’s heart was having problems. It would stop, start and stop again. The recommendation was to put Arno down. Arno was assigned to Taysom and arrived at the department in late 2010 before being certified in spring of 2011. He was a dual-purpose dog, meaning he could apprehend fleeing suspects and locate narcotics ranging from marijuana to cocaine. Arno was consistent, reliable, always there. In June 2011, he was recognized when he and Taysom took first place in narcotics detection during an Idaho Police Canine Association competition. And while Belgian Malinois are regarded for their police and military work, they aren’t typically considered the best pets. Arno, however, bucked that notion. He was able to switch seamlessly between his time as a police dog and his time as a friend. “I could take him into a kindergarten class and turn him loose and the kids could play with him and pet him,” Taysom said. “My kids could go out and feed him and play with him and do all that stuff. … He was a very social dog.” Arno was Taysom’s second police dog, and Taysom had handled K-9s since 2003. With Arno’s passing, Taysom is shifting back to regular patrol duty. The transition, he says, is a difficult one. “You spend more time your dog than you do with your family,” he said. “When you go to work, he goes to work. You spend a minimum of 40 hours a week with your dog, plus time at home.
The transition’s tough. You let your dog out to play with him during shift, and he’s not there, and that’s something that you’ve had for 13 years. There’s been many K-9 handlers in the past, and they all say it just takes a little bit of time.” Taysom continued, “Some of the biggest things I remember and think about with him was the teamwork that you would have,” Taysom said. “He knew what you were going to do. You knew what he was going to do. … He was just a great partner to have.”
